Sleeping Lucy
by SkyDragonRoar
Summary: Natsu, a young traveller, hears rumours of a beautiful sleeping princess hidden somewhere deep in the forest. And so their tales intertwine, and they begin the grand adventure of acquainting eachother. (NaLu AU)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Ohmaigosh hi guys! I am, indeed, still alive. I actually can't even put into words how sorry I am that I've been gone for so long! I just, a lot of stuff has been going on and writing fanfiction hasn't really been the first thing on my mind these days. Thank you all SO, SO much for your patience! I really feel so bad that I abandoned all my fics, especially after leaving most of them on cliffhangers, but I'm going to try get back on track! This story is dedicated to the wonderful Nina-Chan (Anime anonomous is her account name) who asked me to write out this plot for her and really made my day with her lovely, positive messages. I've never received a request before and I'm so flattered! She made up this plot and I might make a few tweaks here and there, so I hope you all like it!**

**Disclaimer: I own neither the original plot or characters, I just own the writing. I'm just gonna do my best! ^-^**

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The young man, like many others, was only passing through.

And like many others, he went, at first, unnoticed. The majority of men who stopped in this inn were middle-aged drunkards, tired of life and drinking away their feelings. They were loud, they were obnoxious, and they chatted up every woman in sight, as drunk men do. The bartender was used to this by now and had learned over the years to deal with them quickly and efficiently if they caused trouble in his inn. If they picked on the girls that worked for him, he dealt with them a little more threateningly (Chivalry wasn't dead yet).

The man that passed through that day was different than the others. First of all, he was young. Much younger than his usual customers. He was maybe in his early twenties, and had this quality about him that made him seem weary, like an old man, like he was wise and weighed down with knowledge of life, but at the same time a young man, straight out of adolescence, reckless and excited for the life ahead of him. But this was not a place for the young and excited. This was the kind of the place that men came to escape the daily commutes of their lives, have a drink,and forget.

This man entered and took a seat on one of the ageing bar stools, tucking a leather satchel underneath the counter at his feet and leaning forward so his elbows were resting on the counter. He ordered a drink quietly, only making eye contact when it was handed to him, and muttered a brief thanks. This man had gotten the bartender intrigued now, for several reasons - He was young. Younger than the others. He hadn't leered at any women, hadn't started any fights, and the bartender couldn't remember the last time he had heard a drink being ordered so quietly. Finally, his appearance was...unusual. He was tall, and strong looking, his shoulders broad. His skin was tanned (although it was summer), and his eyes were wide and onyx coloured. But the most interesting thing about him was his hair - bright pink in colour and in tousled spikes atop his head, ending just below his ears, several strands brushing across his forehead. It was quite literally the brightest thing in the room.

Obviously, one of the barmaids had taken notice as well, because she was peering at Natsu curiously, a tray clutched in one hand. One of the men took notice of her and reached an arm out, wrapping an arm around her waist. He grinned at her drunkenly, white teeth through his bushy beard.

"Evening, sweetheart," He slurred, "Put on a little show for me, will ya?"

The barmaid wrinkled her nose in disgust, trying to pull away from his gasp.

"Don't go," he grinned again, "Gimme 'nother drink, would ya?"

"Please let me go," She pleaded, trying again to prise his hand away from her waist. He wasn't letting go; in fact, he tried to pull her closer.

"Leave her alone."

The quiet man spoke for the first time. He'd looked up from his drink and was turned towards the drunk man, his hands on the counter still, looking as if he was ready to move.

"Oh y-yeah?" The drunk man hiccuped. He staggered to his feet, his arm still slung around the barmaid, a mug of beer clutched in the other hand. As he moved, beer sloshed over the rim of the cup and splashed over the barmaid he was harassing, staining her red dress and dripping from the ends of her white hair. She wrinkled her nose, the corners of her mouth turning down. This was it for the man who was on his feet in a matter seconds and roughly pushing the man away from the barmaid. He figured that if she had already tried to pull away and had been unsuccesful, he should just use force to push the man away from her. (A/N: EQUALITY! :P) Although a strong man, the alcohol gave him a disadvantage and he stumbled backwards.

"You think you can just treat anyone like you please?" The pink-haired man snarled, "You think you can take advantage of a woman who's just trying to her job serving drunks like you?" He was angry now, his onyx eyes stony.

"Yooou ignorant little t-twit," The drunk slurred angrily, lunging towards him, "You think you caaan d-disrespect me when I-I'm twice yooooour aage?"

He raised his hands just as the man lunged towards him, but he was stronger than he expected him to be under the influence of alcohol and sent a swift fist to his cheek as hard as he could. He stumbled backwards, moving out of the way just as the drunk man aimed for him again and got his own hit in this time, punching him hard in his gut. This was enough to incapacitateb him and gave the bartender his chance to intrude. Although a small man, the owner of the inn was tough as nails and put other men in their place easily. He leapt over the counter he was standing behind and seized the man who was doubled over and wheezing, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and pulling him roughly to the doorway and out.

"Don't harass my staff or my customers again, you snivelling fool," He roared, slamming the door after him. Calmly, he went back around the other side of the counter as if nothing had happened, although everyone was staring at him in awe.

"Makarov," The barmaid began, "Don't you think that was a little violent?"

"Nothing's too violent to put fools like that in their place, Mira." Makarov said, going back to cleaning glasses as he had been. He nodded towards the pink-haired man who had taken his seat at the counter again. "Give him another drink."

The white-haired girl went and fetched another glassful of beer and set it on the counter next to the man, along with a small white cloth that she'd dampened.

"For your face," She explained, gesturing to the graze on his cheek. "Are you alright?"

"Mhm," he nodded, smiling slightly. "Thank you."

"Thank you for rescuing me from that awful man," She said, "I can usually deal with them myself but he was just not letting go. What's your name?"

"Natsu." He looked up at her; he could see why the men went for her - she was quite beautiful, with long, wavy white hair and wide, blue eyes that sparkled when she smiled. Regardless, it was still unacceptable for her to be treated that way, beautiful or not.

"I'm Mirajane," She smiled at him, raising her hand in a small wave, as a greeting, "But everyone calls me Mira." She paused, taking a seat next to him and raising the cloth to his cheek.

"You're not from around here, are you?" She asked him. "Oh, this graze isn't too bad. Not bleeding much."

"No," He told her, turning his head to look at her once she was finished. "I'm just passing through. I'm supposed to deliver something for my father to another kingdom." He gestured under the table where he'd left his satchel.

"Ah, I see." Mira smiled again. "Well, Natsu, thank you again. You're very brave. Maybe even brave enough to wake the princess."

"Princess?" Natsu asked, raising a questioning eyebrow, "What princess?"

"Oh, it's just a legend around these parts," She explained. "They say there's a princess hidden away in the forest who's been asleep for a long time, after she was cursed by a witch. No one knows if it's true, though. Anyone who ever want to look, I never heard from again, or else they just failed and returned. They say she's beautiful, though." She smiled mysteriously. "I'd better get back to working. Good luck with your travelling, Natsu."

He watched her walk away, intrigued by the story of this princess. Maybe... Maybe he could be the one to find her.

He took his satchel and headed out the door,grinning to himself. This was an opportunity for adventure.

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**A/N: First chapter finished! I'm going to apologise ahead of time - you guys know how terrible I am at updating consistently. I hope you liked the first chapter of the story! Reviews are love!**

**Until next time! ^-^**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I really am the worst at updating... I'm very sorry...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy a Tail! Or the plot. Just the writing. :3**

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The dark forest looked ahead of Natsu, seemingly endless as it stretched over acres of land. The trees were tall, their trunks black, branches twisting up towards the azure any, covered in clusters of dense, dark green leaves. There seemed to be thousands of them, like a crowd of people, all clustered together, roots entwining with eachother as they swayed in the gentle breeze.

It was dark when Natsu took the first few steps into the trees. The leaves created a canopy, shading the area. Thin shafts of sunlight still broke through the leaves, making dappled shadows on the ground. Everything was still, quiet, apart from the occasional rustle in the undergrowth from a bird, or perhaps a rabbit. As far as Natsu could tell, he was the only living human residing in this forest as of this moment.

He started walking, strolling through narrow, twisting paths between the trees. Although he seemed to be the only one here, Natsu kept a protective hand clutched on his bag, anyway. The contents of the leather satchel, slung across his shoulder on a worn strap, were water, empty packets of what once was good (he had a large appetite - very large...) a roll of bandages, a small knife, a cloak - although he didn't need it in the sweltering heat, it worked well if it rained - and the item he was delivering, wrapped in cloth and tucked right at the end of the satchel, out of sight. He was ordered to protect it at all costs until it was safely delivered to the next kingdom over.

He stopped in his tracks and frowned - was that the same tree as before? Natsu glances around him in a circle, trying to recgonise this part of the forest. He had been paying well enough attention, but had he gone in a circle? No, he couldn't see the entrance anymore, and it was darker..

He glanced down at his feet to see lush green undergrowth. He had somehow trailed off the narrow paths.

natsu friwned deeply, letting out a sigh of exasperation. It looked as if he was lost...

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Several hours later, Natsu still wasn't quite sure where he was.

He was beginning to feel a little like he was losing his mind - the entrance of the forest from earlier was long gone, swallowed up by the dense cluster of trees, but he felt as if he was wandering the same circle over and over again. Was there some path out of this circle he just kept missing, something branching out into a different part of this labyrinth?

He was growing tired of this. His very bones ached with exhaustion; having walked continuously for so long. His mouth was parched and dry - he drank all his water ages ago. He could feel the pangs of hunger in his stomach. He hadn't eaten since maybe early this morning or yesterday. Natsu ran a hand through his unruly pink hair, growling in exasperation.

"Where the hell am I?!" He yelled, not to anyone in particular. A few birds scattered from their perches on tree branches in response, but the forest was still deathly silent of any human activity.

And then all of a sudden, a whisper.

It came very suddenly - Natsu thought he must have imagined it at first. Maybe exhaustion and hunger were finally getting to his head and causing hallucinations.

But there it was again! A faint, soft whisper. Not too far away. It sounded like the voice was female.

"Hello?" Natsu called out, taking a small step forward. "Is someone there?"

_"The labyrinth. The labyrinth's exit is close. Look closely."_

He looked around him eagerly, trying to seek out the owner of the voice.

"Hello?" Natsu calls again. "Where are you? Who are you? What do you mean by the labyrinth?"

The ground seems to shift from underneath him suddenly and he is thrown onto his side, losing his balance. It's like a weight has suddenly knocked into him.

He presses a hand to his temple for a moment, his face scrunching up. He is dizzy and disoriented.

But when he looks up, the endless cluster of green trees are gone, and in front of him, derelict, tall, overgrown with ivy -

Is a tower.

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**Chapter 2 finished! Sorry that it's so short - it's late here.**

**Night guys! Reviews are love!**


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